Drugs Of Choice

Mike Parker Talks With Young Drug Users - Both Casual Users And
Addicts - About Drug Use And Abuse

'Jan" (not her real name) is a tall, dark-haired university student
who enjoys smoking pot with her friends. A former call centre
employee, she pays her own tuition, contributes to her parents'
household and holds down a job. About twice a month, she and her
friends chip in and purchase a bag of weed, the way others get
together for beer.

She has smoked pot regularly since she was 13 years old and considers
it relatively harmless. "I think I've had more harm from smoking
cigarettes than from smoking pot," she says.

Now, Jan wants to try the hallucinogen LSD because she is curious
about the drug. She has researched it on the Internet, reading up on
dosages and effects.

She has talked to her friends about the drug and she is confident the
drug won't have any longterm consequences.

"It is not the big demon drug most people think it is," she
says.

Jan says that both teachers and her parents talked to her about drug
use when she was younger, telling her about the long-term affects.
"But it wasn't a big deal," she says.

It is a big deal to a lot of people in New Brunswick, though, from
concerned parents to people on the front lines of drug addiction, a
group that includes police, healthcare workers, and the addicts
themselves, of course.

It is a debate that's highly charged, with many users saying that
drugs are relatively harmless, on the one hand.

On the other hand, critics say that all drug use is dangerous, with
all drug users - the casual pot smokers and hardened crack addicts -
heading down the same path to ruin.

With this in mind, here talked to three users - both casual users and
addicts - and people who work in the field for their perspectives on
how to educate young people about issues around drug use, and abuse.

According to the 2002 Student Drug Use survey released by the
Department of Health and Wellness, the use of cannabis, mescaline and
amphetamine is up in the province. In 2002, 34.9 per cent of the
students in grades 7 to 12 admitted to regular use of cannabis,
compared to 28.9 per cent in 1996. And, in 2002, 10.9 per cent of
students surveyed admitted to the regular use of amphetamines.

Nancy Hicks is a case manager at the Ridgewood Addiction Centre, near
Saint John. She says that most people don't understand the nature of
addiction or how drugs affect the body. "Every human being on Earth
has the potential to be addicted," says Hicks.

She says that drugs change the makeup of the brain, releasing
endorphins and other chemicals to produce pleasurable sensations.
Different drugs affect different parts of the brain to produce the
highs and lows associated with drug use. Some people are hardwired to
enjoy stimulants like cocaine while others are designed to enjoy
depressants like pot or alcohol. Hicks says it is hard to compare
drugs because each affects the brain differently, based on age and
genetic makeup. For example if you are under 25 then your brain is
still developing and the addiction rate happens faster.

Another factor is the speed at which drugs take effect. Alcohol takes
up to 30 minutes to reach the brain. Pot takes a few minutes less
while coke gets you high in about two minutes. Crack takes about 10
seconds.

"If pot is a slow ride down a lazy river then cocaine is a fast ride
on a roller coaster," she says. About 30 per cent of pot smokers
develop an addiction, she says. About 10 per cent of people who drink
develop dependence.

Drugs like cocaine, oxycontin and dilaudid take about three to six
weeks to develop an addiction. Depressants like pot and alcohol can
take up to 20 years.

One of those trying to inform teens and young people about drug use is
Joyce Melvin, executive director of Pasage, a non-profit group that
brings drug education to the school system.

Since 1995, the group has handed out over 80,000 pamphlets in high
schools throughout the province and Melvin says the type of drugs
young people experiment with is changing. When her group began in
1984, they mostly got calls about pot and alcohol use. Today, it is
dilaudid, LSD and Ecstasy. Melvin says young people will experiment.
Her group adopts the Don't Do Drugs approach to younger grades, but
changes the message to a harm reduction stand in the older groups.

Most kids start experimenting around the age of 13 years old, and
Melvin says they need to know how to make informed choices. "They will
make their own choices. But we want them to make informed choices,"
she says.

One of those who heard Melvin's message is Mark, a 17-year old high
school student. He says the warnings of parents and teachers did
little to dissuade his curioristy.

"Telling kids 'Don't Do It' doesn't work. We don't know if the
educational method will work. But we should at least try it," says
Mark, 17, a Grade 12 student. Mark began smoking pot three years ago,
shortly after listening to his teachers lecture against the evils of
drug use. At first, he believed the warnings and thought marijuanna
was a dangerous habit that would lead to further addictions.

But after he smoked it a few times, he changed his perception and
viewed it as relatively harmless. Soon, he was smoking a joint three
or four times a week, in between classes or at parties with friends.

It didn't stop there. He quickly expanded his drug use to include
dilaudids, crystal meth, PCP and cocaine. He researched each on the
Internet to get proper dosage information, then went out and bought
the drugs from friends at school. He tried each a few times but
quickly discarded one in favour of the next.

He settled on the amphetamine Dexedrine, or dexies. He first tried the
drug at a friend's apartment and absolutely loved it. The orange and
brown pills give a massive energy rush and, a sense of euphoria that
few other pharmaceuticals can deliver and. Soon he was taking three or
four 10-milligram pills each morning.

To pay for the drugs, he would sell to his friends at school. Then
teachers caught him and he was expelled.

Mark says that if his teachers and parents had talked to him honestly
and frankly about drug use and their effects, he would not have been
curious about them. But he felt like teachers and other officials were
talking down to him and lied about the effects of drug use.

"Is there such a thing as safe drug use? I'm not sure," he says. "But
if I felt like I'd been told the truth then I wouldn't have started."
Today, Mark is enrolled in another high school and will graduate in
the spring. He has not used drugs for about six months and looks back
at the experiences with a jaundiced eye.

"Teens will always experiment, That's what we do," he
says.

For three hours, Jennifer tore her apartment apart, looking for
cocaine she knew was not there.

The remnants of her last buy went up her nose a few days previous and
now, flat broke and with nothing left to sell, she needed a fix. She
walked into the living room and dragged the broken down sofa to one
side. Getting down on her hands and knees, she combed the rug with her
fingers, looking for any stray traces that had fallen to the floor.

It was stupid, she thought; what little coke she found wouldn't be
enough to help. But addicts are eternal optimists and she was
desperate to find that last scrap. She knew she had to quit the drug.
But quitting coke would be easier if she could just get the drug once
more.

"You know it is stupid but you simply can't stop," she says. These
days, Jennifer, 26, is holding down a full time job but still suffers
from addictions. She is on a waiting list for the provincial methadone
program. She no longer uses cocaine but has come to rely upon the
powerful pain killer dilaudid instead, taking about 200 milligrams or
four pills intravenously each day. Her body aches constantly and her
nose is always running, like she is on the verge of a cold.

She is waiting to be accepted into a methadone program, but knows it
could be several months before she does. "I made a stupid mistake.
Does that mean I don't deserve treatment?" she says. "I still have the
potential to be a productive person."

Melvin counsels young people to postpone the choice until later in
life. She says that medical studies indicate that because teens and
other young people are still developing, many drugs affect their
bodies differently than older adults and can have long-term
consequences.

But if they want more information she will tell them about the health
risks associated with various drugs and refer them to web sites like
factsontap.org, which lists the long- and short-term effects of many
drugs, including pot, LSD and cocaine.

She also cautions them about behavior while under the influence. It is
common for teens to engage in unprotected sex while under the
influence and she ensures they know about proper condom use and the
risks of pregnancy and STDs. "You need to make an informed choice,"
she says.

Information is something Jennifer wished she had when she was in high
school. Today, the young woman says she is fortunate to have emerged
from the experience relatively unscathed.

"I'm really lucky. I'm not on the stroll. I'm not stealing or peddling
my arse. But it is a hard life," she says.

She says she first tried coke when in high school and at the time, she
did not fully understand the long-term consequences. She did not
realize that she would become addicted.

"That's definitely something I never thought of," she says. She thinks
she mad a stupid mistake trying coke. She has stolen to support her
habit, sold her clothes and has maxed out her credit cards. Yet she
considers herself one of the lucky ones. She has seen friends turn to
prostitution to support themselves while others have died.

Jennifer knows young people will experiment and doubts if they would
listen to Melvin and the others who caution them against drug use. She
cautions them to be aware of how it affects their lives. She began
using to deal with feelings of depression and anger and she says young
people need to get help to address these issues.

She knows they will experiment with pot and the softer drugs. But says
they would do well to stay away from the harder drugs like coke and
dilaudids. "Stay away from that shit altogether," she says.